


After All This Time

by zenonaa



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-03
Updated: 2016-12-03
Packaged: 2018-09-06 07:41:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8740846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenonaa/pseuds/zenonaa
Summary: '“I’m...” Touko shuddered. He blinked, confused. “I’m n-not... a fool...”Komaru restrained herself from punching the air in celebration of Touko’s correction.“I j-just...” Touko squeezed him harder. “... r-really missed you.”'Togami and Naegi finally collect Fukawa and Komaru from Towa City.





	

**Author's Note:**

> for togafukaweekend
> 
> there was going to be a reunion scene... we were ROBBED...

“Staring out of the window won’t make him come any faster,” Komaru pointed out from behind Touko.

“I know that,” replied Touko, not discouraged. The long, cream curtains were drawn apart, which let Touko press her face against the window, squashing her nose against the glass. “I want to be ready... as soon as I see him, I’m going to run out and... and...”

Komaru waited warily for something lewd, but nothing of the sort happened. Touko trailed off into panting that after a gulp, disappeared too.

Thinking little of it, Komaru let out a giggle. “You’re really excited, aren’t you, Touko-chan? I didn’t even have to threaten to force you to take a bath... You did it on your own accord.”

Even after all this time, Touko still pined for Byakuya. It was a pity that they didn’t have any new clothes to wear for Byakuya and Makoto’s arrival. Most of the available clothes in Towa City had been worn by corpses, so Komaru had decided to wear the high school uniform given to her more than a year ago. Wearing something a corpse wore for no one knew how long felt wrong. Creepy. For all she knew, she could put on something haunted. Besides, she was still high school age, so it wasn’t too weird. Perhaps after she left Towa City, she could go back to high school and be like Kanon’s older friend, Yasuhiro.

Now, Touko on the other hand, who should have graduated high school years ago, having to wear her old high school uniform... that was arguably weird, and the fact it was torn, faded in places and permanently stained was just sad.

When they got back, the two of them needed to be given new, clean clothes. Maybe a suit like Komaru’s big brother wore.

Komaru hummed, turning her head slowly as she surveyed their hotel room. She puffed out her chest and rested her fists against her hips.

“Goodbye, room. Goodbye, hotel. Goodbye, Towa City,” she said.

The room didn’t reply or change. Its walls remained marigold and the door basil green. Neither of the two had needed to pack anything, so not needing to worry about that chore, Komaru adjusted the megaphone hacker gun affixed to her belt to prevent it from comically slipping free, hitting the floor and getting dented or broken completely. Though maybe it wouldn’t be so comical if it broke. Komaru didn’t know if Byakuya wanted it back. After he departed from Towa City, he only talked to them, mostly Touko, via video call, and as far as Komaru was aware, he never mentioned expecting her to return it, unless it happened in the conversations they had that Touko insisted Komaru give them privacy for.

If he tried to make Komaru hand the hacking gun over, she would tell him it was payment for rescuing him with Touko. Komaru raised her arms over her head, clasped her hands together and stretched. A bit of tummy showed. Bored, she turned back to Touko, who had stationed herself by the window as soon as Byakuya hung up earlier that day after telling them of their plan to retrieve them that evening. She couldn’t hold Touko’s impatience against Touko, as Komaru too had been buzzing all day since they received the news.

With a fond smile, Komaru shook her head, lowered her arms and walked over to Touko. Near the window was an armchair, but Touko had chosen to stand rather than use it, so Komaru settled in it instead.

For a minute or so, Komaru watched her friend. Due to how Touko was pushing her body against the window, not much of Touko’s face could be seen. Just the side of her face.

Touko really wanted to see him again. Hopefully Byakuya wouldn’t ruin things. Komaru’s smile grew heavy until it slipped off her face entirely. What if Byakuya ruined things? She suspected that Touko’s imagination, as incredible as it was, had distorted her perception of him. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who strode into a scene with cherry blossom petals dancing in the wind behind him, or the kind of guy who would laugh and cup Touko’s cheek and whisper that everything would be perfect.

Stomach quivering, Komaru stood up, and she reached out a hand to touch Touko’s shoulder.

“Hey, Touko-chan,” said Komaru. Touko didn’t respond, but Komaru continued anyway. “What if... Togami-san isn’t how you remember him?”

That grabbed Touko’s attention. Well, sort of. She retracted her face from the window but kept her eyes forward.

“Of course he will be,” scoffed Touko, her reflection faint and frowning.

Komaru tilted her head to one side, brow creased. “It has been a while, and - ”

“ - time and distance won’t change a thing,” finished Touko.

Yeah. He said he still wouldn’t feel a thing for her.

“I’m just saying you might be surprised,” said Komaru. She pulled lightly on Touko’s shoulder. “I don’t want you to get upset if he’s a jerk, or if he says something that doesn’t make sense to you...”

Touko finally tore her gaze away from the window.

“What?” she asked sharply.

Komaru cringed. Her hand fell away from Touko’s shoulder and lifted to curl over Komaru’s heart. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Touko-chan. He... He might not be like he is in your stories.”

By ‘stories’, Komaru meant the fantasies that Touko sometimes muttered, that she usually hugged herself during, eyes rolled back. What if when they reunited, Byakuya appeared as flat as the screen on their laptop? Unchanged?

Touko scowled. “D-Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“Huh?” went Komaru, widening her eyes.

When Touko spoke next, she did so with a lot less venom.

“Those were just fantasies to preoccupy myself with until we were together again,” explained Touko. She turned back to the window and clenched her fists on her lap. “T-There. I said it. If I’m feeling hopeless, or lost, or need strength, and he’s not always there... they help me. They comfort me, imagining us happy one day, even if we’ve both seen and done certain things that mean we shouldn’t be. You... can’t understand some of the stuff that’s inside of us... what we know...”

Concerned, Komaru said, “Touko-chan...?”

“You give me those feelings when I need them too, but you don’t give them in the same way,” added Touko. “But that’s to be expected, because I care about you both but not in all the same ways.”

Komaru blinked. Touko looked at her again, pink.

“You’re like a sister,” said Touko.

“Um...” Komaru went, unsure how to feel about that due to certain comments made by Touko about her relationship with her brother.

Touko nodded with a fondness gleaming in her eyes that Komaru understood.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to be the cute sister you should have had,” promised Komaru. She waved her fists excitedly, warm in the face herself. “But...”

Her fists lost momentum.

“You really believe in Togami-san,” Komaru added. “I mean, I guess he’s handsome, but he can be... cold.”

“Maybe he can be cold, Komaru,” Touko said. There wasn’t a ‘maybe’ to it, and Komaru would have included over synonyms as well, but Komaru stayed silent rather than disrupt her. In any case, Touko started listing them for her. “Prickly... Snappish... Aloof... but that’s what people say about me.”

“You’re not too much like that anymore,” Komaru pointed out, raising an index finger and holding it vertical.

Touko gave a small smile and averted her eyes. “Heh. Not with you.”

“Not all the time,” teased Komaru.

As quickly as it came, Touko’s smile vanished. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Komaru jolted. “T-Touko-chan? What’s wrong?”

“I miss him!” Touko blurted, voice cracking. She trembled and allowed Komaru to gather her into a tight hug.

“It’s okay, Touko-chan,” soothed Komaru, rubbing circles against Touko’s back. On this occasion, she assumed the role of big sister, not Touko. “He’ll be here any moment now. I promise.”

Sobbing with the odd hiccup, Touko nodded. Komaru slowly sat back down onto the armchair, bringing Touko with her and letting Touko kneel in front of her. She closed her eyes.

Makoto and Byakuya would be here any moment, and then?

Then they’d have to wait and see.

Touko calmed down and reinstated herself by the window, where she watched the buildings around them become indiscernible in the fading contrast. The evening matured. Darkness nibbled on the dark blue sky and pink-and-grey clouds. In the distance, the sun set, and the darkness swelled gradually as it gorged until it domineered the sky. Meanwhile, Komaru couldn’t keep still, too full of jitters, and she ended up pacing. She went to the bathroom, and then ten minutes later, she went again, taking her time while washing her hands. Her heart felt too big for her chest and looking at the mirror above the sink, feeling dizzy with nerves, she wondered if she might pass out.

Makoto hadn’t seen her in person for even longer than Byakuya hadn’t seen Touko in person.

Komaru was pulling up one of her socks, foot on the toilet seat lid, when she heard a low but loud whirring. The first thought that popped into her head was that a missile was heading their way, and she froze.

Next came screaming. Touko screaming. Sense kicked in. Or adrenaline. Probably that. Komaru’s foot slid off the seat and as she spun around, she overbalanced. She stumbled but didn’t fall, not even after she threw herself at the bathroom door and burst into the other room.

“What’s going on?” asked Komaru, raising her megaphone hacker gun.

Almost immediately after, Touko zoomed past. Their shoulders bashed together but that did nothing to slow Touko’s pace.

“Byakuya-sama, Byakuya-sama, Byakuya-sama!” Touko chanted, high-pitched, hands wrung together.

Catching on, Komaru’s heart gave a leap. She reached out her hand and ran out of the hotel room, chasing after Touko. “Wait for me!”

The hotel room’s elevator hadn’t worked since they set up camp here, but Komaru often told Touko that using the stairs would be well-needed exercise and Touko only relented to them living higher up rather than on the ground floor because nothing in the lowest floors was habitable. No one wanted to move corpses around. Even their hotel room needed a good cleaning that Komaru found herself mostly responsible for.

Spurred on by the whirring outside, Touko breezed through several flights of half landing stairs, but she was wheezing when Komaru caught up to her outside in the cold air. Touko dropped her pace, creeping forward and hugging herself.

At this point, the low whirring sounded less intimidating and more like a child blowing a long raspberry. The noise originated from a helicopter that was long and grey, with two sets of rotor blades, one at each end. Small, circular windows across the helicopter’s longer sides reminded Komaru of eyes. It gave off very strong military vibes.

Still airborne, the helicopter rotated so it had its back end toward the girls and landed a safe distance in front of them. Both sets of rotor blades stopped whirling, slowing to a halt like the girls did.

With a woosh, the back door opened upward, and stood in the glow of the helicopter’s interior was Byakuya Togami. Komaru flashed a smile then glanced at Touko, who started walking again.

“B-B-B...” stuttered Touko.

There were a lot of things that Byakuya could have said.

“... Hey,” he said. He met Touko’s eyes for a moment and then looked away. “If you’re going to babble and scream, get it out of the way now before - ”

Touko broke into a sprint, bolting up the ramp leading up to the back entrance of the helicopter. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his middle but not pinning his arms to his sides. They were held out either side of him, bent at the elbows.

“G-Get off me!” he said. His arms started to move downward, like he planned to pry her off him, but the sound of her bawling, muffled only by his chest, made him hesitate.

“It’s you. It’s really you,” she choked out.

Byakuya’s lips stretched out into what, on other people, would definitely be a smile. Whatever it was, it softened his expression.

“Of course it’s me, you fool. I swore that after this nonsense passed, we would come get you and I’m a man of my word.”

She trembled, clinging to him. Byakuya lowered his arms, like before, but he didn’t wrench Touko off. Unless Komaru’s eyes were betraying her, he placed his hands against Touko’s upper back as if he was reciprocating the hug.

“I’m...” Touko shuddered. He blinked, confused. “I’m n-not... a fool...”

Komaru restrained herself from punching the air in celebration of Touko’s correction.

“I j-just...” Touko squeezed him harder. “... r-really missed you.”

Byakuya didn’t reply right away, his gaze fixed onto the top of Touko’s head. He had yet to remove his arms from around her. His features hardened.

“I admit, you were both here for a lot longer than we intended,” he said. Then he snorted. “Heh... I was about to say that you’ve gotten stronger, but you’re getting your disgusting tears all over my shirt.”

“Huh?” went Touko.

Komaru stared at him in Touko’s place, as Touko seemed to have no intention of coming out of his chest.

“No,” said Byakuya quietly. “I can’t deny that you’re stronger than before. You’ve grown. Here I thought that feelings made you weaker, but that hasn’t been the case, has it? You... You’re someone I can depend on, aren’t you?”

Touko whipped her head back like he uttered a marriage proposal. Meanwhile, Komaru wiped the back of her hand against her eyes, grinning. This was just like out of one of her shoujo mangas.

It seemed that Touko wasn’t the only one who grew up. That acknowledgement showed Byakuya did as well.

“I’m strong too!” Touko insisted, and she clutched Byakuya harder, trying to lift him off his feet.

Yet, despite it all, Touko was still Touko and Byakuya was still Byakuya.

He squirmed, toes skimming the floor. “H-Hey! Put me down! You’ve made your point, Fukawa!”

Komaru watched them with embarrassment and amusement until another figure came out of the helicopter, starting as a silhouette that slowly filled in with details.

“Big brother?” asked Komaru, dragging a foot forward and almost not recognising him in his dorky sweater vest.

“Hey, Komaru,” said Makoto. He walked out, speeding up as Komaru started to run.

She jumped onto him, enveloping him in a hug.

“You came,” she said, eyes brimming with tears. He sank under her weight. Komaru pulled back a bit and he returned the embrace.

Touko, who by now had put Byakuya down, rolled her eyes. “It’s just as nauseating as I imagined...”

Byakuya nudged her. She squeaked and stood to attention.

“We should get going,” said Byakuya. He pushed up his glasses. “The new headmaster of Hope’s Peak shouldn’t be away from his school for too long, should he?”

Komaru and Touko looked at him.

“New headmaster...?” they said in unison.

* * *

 

Touko and Komaru didn’t get far into harassing Makoto about rebuilding Hope’s Peak because shortly after they raised their voices, Byakuya explained that this school wouldn’t be the same as the previous Hope’s Peak. Instead of just nurturing talent, it would also help students find new skills, and anyone could attend. With this cleared up, when the helicopter landed outside of the future school building, neither Komaru nor Touko wanted to slap sense into him.

Outside of the helicopter, Komaru draped her arm over Makoto’s shoulders, admiring it with him.

“All right, you’ve had enough time to get reaquainted,” Byakuya remarked. “There is still a lot of work that needs to be done.”

Komaru glared at him from over her shoulder. “I don’t remember interrupting you and Touko-chan...”

Byakuya twitched and turned on his heel so he had his back to them.

“Asahina needs help transporting some supplies. Fukawa, other Naegi, go help her. The Headmaster has his own work to attend to.”

“We just got here and you’re already giving us work to do? At least give us new clothes,” whined Komaru.

“You will both be given a uniform after you’re done,” he replied. He prodded his glasses up. “You’re going to get sweaty, so there’s no point putting them on now. Asahina already changed into some old clothes.”

“A uniform!” Touko gushed. She hugged herself. “F-Finally...”

“And me!” Komaru said happily. “I’m practically an adult now.”

Touko pouted at her. “You wish... You’re still a high school student. You don’t need one.”

They bickered as Byakuya gestured toward Aoi, who was carrying a box over to the front of the school, and they wandered off, leaving Byakuya alone with Makoto.

When the girls were out of earshot, Makoto said, “Togami-kun?”

“Is that a new crystal ball?” asked Byakuya loudly. He marched over to Yasuhiro, who was showing off the crystal ball that Kanon sent him last month (along with Kanon’s phone number, on Komaru’s request).

Makoto shook his head at Byakuya’s back and went into the school.


End file.
